So remember when I mentioned that sending out the invites last week was a major “it’s gettin’ real” moment? Well, we recently had another one, a MAJOR one, when we edited our ceremony outline. Last summer on our second wedding-planning trip to Montreal, we met with (and ultimately chose) an awesome officiant for our wedding. He spent 40 years traveling all over the world as a Franciscan monk (how cool is that?) and has used that experience to officiate tons of weddings. What we absolutely love about him is that he is very knowledgeable in all faiths and is such a sweet and gentle person.
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Image via InspiredBride.net
Both of us are Christian (I’m Catholic, FH is Lutheran) but aren’t practicing, so we didn’t feel the need for an overly religious ceremony. We did, however, want a ceremony that was both spiritual and personal, which is exactly what our officiant offered. When we visited with him for the first time, he walked us through the type of ceremony he typically does—literally walked us through. We left our meeting with a warm and fuzzy feeling—we felt as if he had actually married us!
Jeannie is selling an ombre fit-and-flare gown from Mori Lee. She is asking $1,000 for the size 8 dress.
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You know what gets me every single time at weddings? The toasts. I mean, of course, the ceremony will turn me into a stage-three blubberer, but the toasts also bring out the waterworks. It’s so sweet to hear stories about the bride and groom, to hear words of love and approval from their closest friends and family, and of course to hear the juicy embarrassing stories. Love ’em.
After our Grand Entrance and first dance, we mingled with our guests for the first time all day. (Remember, after the ceremony we took photos with the wedding party and snuck off to eat some dinner ourselves—so we hadn’t interacted with the guests at all yet.) We stopped at each table, snapping photos, cracking jokes, showing off our fancy duds, and soaking up all of the love and excitement and energy in the air. Even though we spent positively ages working on the guest list, and then addressing the invitations and escort cards, and I knew from the RSVPs who all was coming, I couldn’t believe that all of these people had traveled here to celebrate our wedding. It’s an indescribable feeling, to be surrounded by every single person you and your partner love. It made every dollar and every hour of planning worth it 10 times over.
As dinner was winding down, and we had greeted every table, it was time to get back to the scheduled programming. And little Flower Girl C was all, “You guyyyys. What’s happening now?”
After we finally got the church unlocked, the groomsmen helped escort people in. We chose Gabriel’s Oboe-Morricone as our prelude song, and after everyone else was seated, Mr. CA escorted my step-mom into the church. It was time for the processional!
We chose “Simple Gifts” as the Processional song. Sigh. Every time I listen to this song it gives me happy tears. Please feel free to listen along!
Family pictures were fast, furious, (not really, I just can’t say fast without furious anymore) and simple. We’d given the photographer lists of groups we wanted and she just called out names and switched us around. We took the pictures at the front of the sanctuary. For the sake of brevity, I’ll just share a couple of my favorites:
This is my family- my parents, sisters, brother, SIL, BIL, nephews, daughter and husband. How cute!
clarakaboom and her new husband share a smooch!
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Last time we talked about catering, I mentioned my dilemma regarding my idea of a true “brunch” reception—including both breakfast and lunch items. You guys were super encouraging!
Reactions from those I told outside of the hive were a little mixed. Some of my closer family members said they thought it was a great idea while others said it was weird and I should stick to one or the other. Ultimately, though, they encouraged me that it’s my wedding and I should do whatever I want—quirky or not!
I don’t always subscribe to the “do whatever you want, it’s your wedding” doctrine. I think input is important and you shouldn’t always do something just because it’s what you selfishly want! That being said, I don’t think the items you put on the menu fall under this category. In designing the menu I was focusing on a variety of items where everyone would have something to eat (including the health conscious and vegetarians). All that to say—I decided to move ahead with my brunch plan!
I did take a few things into consideration. First of all, I want the menu to stay portable and casual. This means no pancakes or steaks!
Image via wordsbyfionakyle / Photo by Phillip Shannon Photography
I only had one actual drink on my wedding day. Well, in addition to the sips of champange I had in the limo and during the toasts. But the only real drink I guzzled from start to finish was one of our signature cocktails at the cocktail hour. Martha Stewart calls it a Starlight Royale; we called it a Blushing Bride.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
Here’s photographic proof that I drank one.
Helloooo everyone! I’m popping my head back in here for a moment to talk about newlywed bliss (or lack thereof) after some encouragement from the bees of the board. 
Mr. Dragon and I have been married for just over four months, and I’m still getting congratulations from people around town. We didn’t put out any kind of formal marriage announcement, but pretty much everyone in our little town reads the newspaper and noticed that, as a reporter, my last name changed on my byline back in September. Every time I run into someone who hasn’t seen me since then I get another, “Hey, you got married! Congrats!”
The question that follows is usually along the lines of, “So, newlywed life is awesome, huh?” or, “Is the honeymoon over?”
The last time someone asked me how married life was, I answered honestly. The person posing the question is a really forthright dude and in the relatively early stages of married life himself (though not as much of a newbie as me) so I figured he’d get it when I said, “Kind of aggravating…but, kind of awesome, too.”
I got this in a fortune cookie, posted it to Facebook with, “I’m already married!” and lots of people laughed at me.
He chuckled and said, “I was gonna tell you that, but I thought I’d wait.”
